Using the Most of CFD Analysis by Efficient Cooperation with BIM - SHINRYO CORPORATION
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Picture 1: Ken Fukada - Researcher of the CFD Solution Group- Research & Development Center, Shinryo Corporation (Technical Supervision Division)
The demand for solutions to global energy issues continues to rise, which emphacize the importance of minimizing energy consumption within the context of architecture lifecycle. SHINRYO CORPORATION has stated remarkable achievements within the field of air-conditioning system design, which is a key to solving this energy issue. They introduced how to utilize CFD into their BIM system. This has equipped their engineers with the planning tools reqiured to optimize their air-conditioning systems.
Shinryo Corporation is a World top leading company in the design and installation of air-conditioning system for residential and commercial building. They have long provided local heating and cooling systems for entire cities, and therefore their product quality is much highly regarded. Shinryo Corporation’s goal is to understand mutual sustainability for both human lives and also the environment by applying advances in environmental engineering technology.
Shinryo Corporation’s three decades of expertize using 3D-CAD is one of the allower that has improved the company constantly offer affordable cost and high quality services. They developed their own BIM compatible software, S-CAD, depending on the basic programing of Syspro’s 3D-CAD software, DesignDraft, which is often utilized by architects and building engineer. S-CAD allows engineers to perform multiple tasks at once, for example, check models in 3D, simulate structure construction, perform pipe interference simulation checks, calculate static pressure load along with lifting height, and assume quantity surveying. They are now building a 3D laser scanner that generates 3D models of existing facilities.
Mr. Ken Fukada from Shinryo Corporation, a researcher from the CFD Solution Group under the R & D Center, explains that the corporate began to utilize S-CAD a decade ago. Mr. Fukada himself has been working closely with CFD applications since he started his career with the company. Shinryo Corporation has created education schemes for S-CAD, which is now at the main center of their operations; new staff members attend on-site training for his or her first six months where they begin to get familiar with S-CAD and the basics of facility design. The corporate also offers continuous training opportunities as a couragement for employees to improve their engineering skills and knowledge.
Customizing CFD to Streamline Tasks
S-CAD was linked to Cradle’s CFD analysis tool, scSTREAM, to perform Thermal-fluid analysis of air-conditioning systems. Shinryo Corporation undertakes quite 150 CFD analyses per year with 70% of them being utilized by design engineers. The engineers perform the analysis for their initial design and also for construction and promotion of their designed products. Mr. Fukada reveals that improving energy efficiency has been one among their clients’ top requirements in recent years.
Shinryo Corporation states that scSTREAM is a user-friendly fluid-thermal software, as they have been utilizing it for more than two decades across their countrywide branches, simultaneously offering the absolute computing environment and hardware for their staffs to effectively calculate their analysis.
Shinryo Corporation states that scSTREAM is a user-friendly fluid-thermal software, as they have been utilizing it for more than two decades across their countrywide branches, simultaneously offering the absolute computing environment and hardware for their staffs to effectively calculate their analysis.
Picture 2: Shinryo Corporation’s CFD Operational Task Structure.
Despite their successes, the corporate has realized two growing concerns; first, design engineers are given more tasks to try to perform, and second the accuracy of study results are often more dependent on engineers’ skills and knowledge. To reinforce efficiency and improve the standard of study, Shinryo Corporation revalidated their internal educational program and also investigated ways to mix scSTREAM and S-CAD.
In 2008, they annnouced an establishment for their CFD Promotion Center to assist more support for analysis projects, followed by a newly installed HPC server in their Research & Development Center in 2010. This allowed their engineers to bring out analysis from other location bases by requesting licenses through their own network. Mr. Fukada’s division, the CFD Solution Group within the the R&D Center, complements that the efforts with their work programming new software and developing expertize addressing more complicated analyses.
In 2008, they annnouced an establishment for their CFD Promotion Center to assist more support for analysis projects, followed by a newly installed HPC server in their Research & Development Center in 2010. This allowed their engineers to bring out analysis from other location bases by requesting licenses through their own network. Mr. Fukada’s division, the CFD Solution Group within the the R&D Center, complements that the efforts with their work programming new software and developing expertize addressing more complicated analyses.
Picture 3: Smooth software collaboration of BIM compliant S-CAD and scSTREAM.
In search of combining both scSTREAM and S-CAD, the CFD Solution Group lately made plug-in software, S-Pre, which promotes the transfer of data amongst S-CAD and scSTREAM. When working with design data for development facilities, S-Pre carries only the data required for the CFD analyse from S-CAD to scSTREAM via Cradle’s VBI. Engineers can indicate CFD settings simply applying the custom-made tool box in the S-CAD window.
The advancement of S-Pre began five years ago, when Mr. Fukada joined the company. Engineers had submitted response that importing 3D-CAD data instantly to scSTREAM would give significant benefits. This guided to the growth of the add-in function to allow the model data transfer. Earlier, engineers had to re-model each time they performed an analysis by utilizing scSTREAM.
The advancement of S-Pre began five years ago, when Mr. Fukada joined the company. Engineers had submitted response that importing 3D-CAD data instantly to scSTREAM would give significant benefits. This guided to the growth of the add-in function to allow the model data transfer. Earlier, engineers had to re-model each time they performed an analysis by utilizing scSTREAM.
This created much additional work because the engineers had to extract all the design information from the original drawings. When the analysis and design functions were performed by different engineers, communication errors frequently occurred. In contrast, by using S-Pre, all engineers can directly use the data from S-CAD and avoid communication related errors. Even those who are unfamiliar with operating scSTREAM can set up analysis conditions from S-CAD.
5 Optimizing Functions for Efficient CFD Analysis
The main function of S-Pre is to transport essential data amongst S-CAD and scSTREAM. Since not every analysis demands all the CAD information, S-Pre can selectively export only data for the part required for CFD analysis; for instance, it can even localize and choose certain furniture or parts in a room.
A secondary function assists as a part manager that can follow and along with organize the design data for each part, such as development structure, tubing and pipeline. Designs are generated by a number of engineers concurrently developing on each section, and are later combined each other. Earlier the engineers were required to re-create models for scSTREAM and withdraw the design information. However, with S-Pre only the required design parts can be simply duplicate to create a new scheme for the CFD analysis.
The third function is the specialized user interface for CFD analysis of the development facilities. The user interface was custom-made to represent only the analysis conditions needed for designing development facilities, which improved the maneuverability. In other general BIM software, engineers can only seta restricted number of input conditions, such as material properties and the total value of heat produced near the air supply. With S-Pre, engineers can set more data, such as wind speed, air temperature, heat-conducting coefficients, heat source properties, and drag coefficients. The setting window for these conditions can be monitored by selecting each part in CAD information, without turning on CFD analysis software.
The fourth function is a conversion feature to simplify parts and assemblies. One example where this feature is useful is for the air discharge, a part that is complicated to represent accurately. Simplification of its geometrical figure and the enveloping objects improves the calculation balance and reduces the number of mesh elements needed.
The fifth function is automated mesh generation, which allows all engineers to create high attribute, persistent meshes. Shinryo Corporation is consistently improving this feature to generate high quality meshes while keeping adequate mesh resolution.
A secondary function assists as a part manager that can follow and along with organize the design data for each part, such as development structure, tubing and pipeline. Designs are generated by a number of engineers concurrently developing on each section, and are later combined each other. Earlier the engineers were required to re-create models for scSTREAM and withdraw the design information. However, with S-Pre only the required design parts can be simply duplicate to create a new scheme for the CFD analysis.
The third function is the specialized user interface for CFD analysis of the development facilities. The user interface was custom-made to represent only the analysis conditions needed for designing development facilities, which improved the maneuverability. In other general BIM software, engineers can only seta restricted number of input conditions, such as material properties and the total value of heat produced near the air supply. With S-Pre, engineers can set more data, such as wind speed, air temperature, heat-conducting coefficients, heat source properties, and drag coefficients. The setting window for these conditions can be monitored by selecting each part in CAD information, without turning on CFD analysis software.
The fourth function is a conversion feature to simplify parts and assemblies. One example where this feature is useful is for the air discharge, a part that is complicated to represent accurately. Simplification of its geometrical figure and the enveloping objects improves the calculation balance and reduces the number of mesh elements needed.
The fifth function is automated mesh generation, which allows all engineers to create high attribute, persistent meshes. Shinryo Corporation is consistently improving this feature to generate high quality meshes while keeping adequate mesh resolution.
Encouraging All Engineers to Explore New Ideas
Mr. Fukada describes that Shinryo Corporation has significantly decreased the time required to check oart models by joining scSTREAM with BIM. Assessing large-scale structure frequently required a long setup time but with S-CAD’s capability to export 3D model directly to CFD analysis, the analysis time can be decreased by up to 50%. One more benefit of using scSTREAM is that design engineers, as well as younger staff members with less experience, are encouraged to study the air-conditioning efficiency and proactively propose better views. “If engineers be aware they can check with analysis, it urges them to raise more new ideas. Being able to check visible results created by scSTREAM is also beneficial for increasing their understandings,” says Mr. Fukada. By utilizing scSTREAM, engineers can begin to acknowledge tendencies and patterns from the analysis, which were just formerly feasible to be identifying at the construction site. The program also allows chief engineers to review calculation conditions, outcomes and train younger engineers to calculate the analysis. In conclusion, the engineers in the CFD Solution Group utilized to add new features through user-defined programme prior to the upgraded version of scSTREAM made available. Now new features can be added more easily under the preprocessor which permits engineers to design and apply more complex air-conditioning analysis conditions.
Picture 4: Example of CFD analysis results: Air-flow analysis of a server room .
Easier and More Accurate CFD Analysis
Although Shinryo Corporation has fully carried out CFD analysis within their design process, they are anxious to enhance the engineers’ analysis capabilities. The company also demands to guarantee they make the best calculating hardware accessible for superior analysis. Their engineers can confront problems with excessively complex meshes when applying the raw CAD data model for CFD analysis. To address this, Shinryo Corporation is planning to present modeling guidance and/or create methods to transform CAD data into CFD analysis model.
They are also planning to build a library of air characteristics in cooperation with the Society of Heating, Air-Conditioning and Sanitary Engineers of Japan. This will permit their engineers to efficiently execute analysis and share the obtained understanding with others.
Until lately, Shinryo Corporation has concentrated on enhancing the input information for analysis. In the future they also desire to enhance the result by allowing their engineers to check analysis results by using S-CAD. At present the output results can just be monitored in scSTREAM. Mr. Fukada considers this will be a dispute as it implies cooperation with S-CAD. But he is persuaded that once the engineers can directly monitor output results in S-CAD, it will be simpler for them to change the air-conditioner from summer to winter feature, and examine the complete tasks on S-CAD.
Mr. Fukada is eager on making sure the precision of the analysis results. This will demand improvement of the corporate's engineers’ personal expertise. Shinryo Corporation today states one-on-one analysis education, but they are worried about keeping high quality training when they have more engineers. Mr. Fukada says this will have to be provided more consideration in the future.
For now, CFD analysis is mainly conducted by engineers, but in-house response implies that the building staffs may desire to establish analysis skills since designs can be changed on site. This abilities could be understood if there is adequate network bandwidth that allows quick download of the analysis results, says Mr. Fukada.
Shinryo Corporation has created great progress applying IT analysis tools within their design process, and they remain to investigate new applications. In today’s business where minimizing building energy usage is a key problem, they have accomplished great contributions by utilizing scSTREAM to assist them design more effective air-conditioners.
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Shinryo Corporation provides construction services for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning industry worldwide. The company designs, constructs, and repairs air-conditioning sanitary facilities and electric facilities; engages in the design, implementation, sale, and provision of after-service and industrial machinery facilities for wastewater treatment equipment, chambers for measuring the diffusion amount of VOC, and public pump facilities; and offers worker dispatch outsourcing services. Its construction projects include high rise buildings, shopping centers, hotels, hospitals, halls, sports, airports, factories/clean rooms, computer centers, aquariums, subways, and tunnels; and special facilities, which include cogeneration systems, and district heating and cooling systems
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